Towel dispensing cabinet



p 1942- R. G. BIRR ETAL 2,295,252

TOWEL DISPENSING CABINET Original Filed Aug. 17, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l R. cs. BIRR EIAL 2,295,252 TOWEL DISPENSING CABINET Original Filed Aug. 17, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 h s s? u S .i I I 1: I I MN vw Sept. 8, 1942.

m w w Patented Sept. 8, 1942 psi ems

2,295,252 TOWEL DISPENSING CABINET Rudolph G. Birr, Lombard, and Albert C. Grunwald, River Forest, 111., assignors to Steiner Sales Company, Salt Lake City, Utah, a corporation of Utah 2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in dispensing cabinet constructions, and is divisional of ourcopending application Serial No. 225,398, filed August 17, 1938, for Towel dispensing cabinet, which has matured into Patent 2,255,609, issued September 9, 1941.

Among the objects of the invention herein is to provide means for facilitating the assembly and removal of an inner unit upon which the dispensing mechanism of the cabinet is mounted.

Another object is to provide means whereby the inner unit is, so to speak, hung on the back wall of the cabinet and supported substantially only by the back, all in a manner to facilitate assembly and disassembly of the unit.

Another object is to provide a unit made up of two side plates, each having means at front and back, the means at the rear being cooperable with sockets in the back wall to support the plates against downward, outward or lateral movement, and the means at the front being secured to corresponding front means of the outer casing, all for the purpose of simplifyin the structure and facilitating disassembly of the unit, parts of which form journals for certain portions of the dispensing mechanism. Another feature is the use of a removable unit which cooperates with the bottom of the cabinet to form a supply rollreceiving chamber and which cooperates with the upper portion of the cabinet to form a soiled towel roll-receiving chamber.

Features of the invention include, the means by which the unit which supports the mechanism is detachably secured to the outer casing or within the outer casing the specific means by which ing by means of the parts respectively carried bythe outer casing and the inner unit; the use of socket members on the back wall to receive portions of the plates to support the same; the use of a flange on the front of each plate for securing it to the corresponding side or corresponding flange of the outer casing and the specific means used for fastening the rear flange and the front flange of each plate respectively to the back and to the front of the cabinet or to a flange thereof.

Objects, features and advantages of the invention will also appear in the description of the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, and in said drawings Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section showing the toweling in place and the doors closed; and

tom 3 of the cabinet.

Figure 2 is a horizontal section taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1 showing the manner of securing the unit in and to the outer casing.

' In the drawings, numeral i generally designates the outer casing having sides 2 and 3 'This top door it laps and covers the latching projections B of the lower door and the heads of the latches. The lower edge I 2 of the upper door and the upper edge It of the lower door are so formed as to define when closed a dispensing slot or opening it downwardly through which the toweling extends.

The upper part of the lower door (see Figure 2) is inwardly, upwardly slanted as at is, and overlying this slanted portion of the outer side is a friction-reducing plate it also upwardly, inwardly slanted and convergent toward the portion 15. The top of the inclined surface i5 is thus brought inwardly to a non-coplanar relation with the outer surfaces of the doors.

In this embodiment of the invention there is i an inner unit which is detachably secured in the outer casing and the scheme for securing this unit is a feature. The unit includes a pair of side plates (see Figures 2 and 3) respectively designated 20, 2!, the vertical rear edge of each plate having a flange 22 and the back having screws 23, in this instance spot welded therein, and with which openings 24 in the flanges are engaged as shown. The screws have nuts 26 to secure the flanges and therefore the plates. These flanges 22 at the back are in-turned. Each plate has also at its front vertical edge a vertically extending flange 28 which is out-turned, and each side of the outer casing has an inturned flange 29 with which the corresponding flange of the plate overlaps. The flanges 28, 29 (see Figure 2) have openings 38, 3!, the latter threaded, and there are screws 35. passing through the openings to secure the flanges together as shown. There are preferably two or three screws used for each lapped pair of flanges. This connection scheme for the inner unit is a feature.

On the back 35 (see Figure 2) of the outer casing near the bottom are transversely alined open-top sockets 36 (only one of which is shown) made by punching the metal inwardly. These sockets may be formed in other ways. The bottom of each flange 22 of each plate has a projection which fits into a corresponding socket. This prevents downward motion of the inner unit, and also prevents out-swing of the lower part of this detachable unit. These sockets also limit the unit at a position to facilitate registration of the openings 24 with screws 23, and do likewise for the openings 30, 3| of the front flanges 28, 29.

By the use of the sockets 36 or their equivalent in combination with some other means equivalent to 23, 24, 26, a unit which has all the dispensing and smoothing mechanism thereon, or has all of the dispensing mechanism thereon when the smoothing mechanism is not used, can be quickly attached or assembled, or after assembly be quickly detached for inspection and repair, merely by removing the nut or nuts 26 from the screws 23 and swinging the unit outwardly slightly to disengage the openings 24 from the screws and then raising it to disengage the bottoms of the flanges 22 from the sockets 36. These means 22, 36, 23 and 26 or their equivalent also act to secure the unit at a position whereat (see Figure 2) the openings 3| of the flanges 29 are registered with the openings 30 of the flanges 28, so that introduction of the screws 32 is facilitated.

In the preferred form of the invention, the dispensing mechanism (see Figure 2) is constituted by a single unit, including parts which are mounted on the two plates 26, 2| above described. This mechanism includes a pair of rollers having their axes arranged substantially in the same horizontal plane. The front roll 40 is called the measuring roll and the back roll 4| operates a soiled towel take-up roll 42 by frictional engagement with the toweling 43 thereon. Rolls 4|, 40 are suitably journaled in the plates. Each roll has at one end a sprocket gear which lies at the outer side of plate 20 or at that side nearest the side wall 2 of the cabinet. These gears (see Figure 3) are designated 46, 41 and are connected by a sprocket chain 48 by which means they operate in unison so that after the toweling loop is formed and adjusted at the time of loading the cabinet, this loop is maintained by causing the same amount of soiled toweling to be taken up, as is pulled out by the user.

Associated with the measuring roll is a roll I 06 known as a pinch-roll (see Figures 1 and 2). This roll is vertically movable in slots ||l| of the plates 20, 2| to permit proper introduction of the towel.

In order to prevent engagement between soiled and clean toweling as the soiled towel roll increases in diameter, there is provided a guard plate swingable on a pivot parallel with the axes of the rolls 4!], 4|. This plate extends entirely across the space between the inner sides of the plates 20, 2|. This guard plate is curved, and after the toweling is loaded it is swung from a rear to a forward position over the pinch-roll, as shown in Figure 2. Its movement toward the pinch-roll is limited by a lug ||3 struck inwardly from plate 2| so that the guard is slightly upwardly spaced from the toweling on the pinchroll. When in this position a concave face of the guard is opposed to the pinch and measuring rolls.

A mechanism is carried by the removable inner unit and provides means by which space is obtained at the back of the cabinet for facilitating introduction of the toweling, for connection with the soiled towel take-up roll, and for smoothing the toweling a it approaches the take-up roll. This means includes (see Figure 2) a plate 5 mounted to swing on a horizontal axis, provided herein by means of axially alined, pivoted screws H6, one screw in each plate 20 and 2|. plate is adapted to swing forwardly to the dotted line position shown. This plate cooperates with a pair of parallel bars H8, H9, upper and lower, arranged transversely and at the back of the inner unit near the back wall of the cabinet. These bars are attached by having their ends extending through slots in the plates 20, 2|. Bar 8 has its forward portion turned upwardly and rearwardly to form a smoothing edge I20, and bar I I!) has its forward portion turned downwardly and rearwardly to form a smoothing edge |2|. The upper edge of the plate I I5 has a smoothing edge I23 cooperative with or lying between the edges 20, |2| for smoothing.

In the present case there is a normally fixed but easily removable unit upon which all of the dispensing mechanism is mounted and the chamber for the clean towel roll has a bottom formed solely by the bottom of the cabinet, and has a back and sides formed solely by parts of the unit, the back acting as a partition and being movable to permit introduction of the hand for the purpose heretofore mentioned. Thus, there is a back which separates soiled from clean toweling, which is movable forwardly and rearwardly and which, when in position to prevent introduction of the hand, is also positioned to act as a smoother for soiled, wet toweling.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a dispensing cabinet having an outer casing and an inner unit upon which a dispensing mechanism is mounted, said unit including two side plates, each plate having a flange thereon at the rear and each flange having an opening, screws carried by the back wall of the casing, each passing through one opening, nuts for the screws clamping the flanges against the back, said casing having sockets and each flange having a lower terminal portion fitting a corresponding socket to limit the unit at a position to facilitate registration of the screws with the flange openings, said casing having at the front in-turned flanges, and each plate having a front out-turned flange lapping a corresponding in-turned flange of the casing, said lapped flanges having openings in registration and screws in the openings securing the flanges together.

2. In a dispensing cabinet having an outer casing and an inner unit upon which a dispensing mechanism is mounted, said unit including two side plates, each plate having a flange thereon at the rear and each flange having an opening, screws carried by the back of the casing, each passing through one opening, nuts for the screws clamping the flanges against the back, said casing having sockets and each flange having a lower terminal portion fitting a corresponding socket to limit the unit at a position to facilitate registration of the screws with the flange openings.

RUDOLPH G. BIRR.

ALBERT c. GRUNWALD.

This 

